Celebrating the Unique History and Culture of Chicago's Uptown Community

June 27, 2013

A Review of the Opening of the Uptown Theatre

From the archives...

House Reviews: Uptown

Source: Variety, 26 August 1925, p. 28.

Eclipsing in size, splendor and
impressiveness anything that has been built in the last few years of
hectic theatre construction, this new house is not only beyond doubt the
most gorgeous movie palace in the world, but is so far above its
neighborhood that the North Side will be years before it is worthy of
it. It has been aptly described as "an acre of seats." The
capacity is a hundred or two more than the Chicago,
with nearly 4,500
seats.

The Uptown can be
compared to the fabled grandeur of the old Alhambra, palace of the
Moorish monarchs in Spain.

The "dress rehearsal" was held Monday to an audience
whose presence was requested on engraved invitations. This audience was
probably as smart and show-wise a congregation as could be gotten into
one house, and the production department of Balaban and Katz undertook
to fool this audience by giving them pseudo-inside stuff on a B. &
K. rehearsal. Actually it was nothing more than a carefully rehearsed
rehearsal designed as a gag.

The house was far from finished for the opening. Many of the
staircases were uncarpeted and without banisters. The box office had no
windows or other equipment installed; the men's lounge on the main floor
was not opened, and there were ladders and tools scattered about in all
sorts of corners. Workmen in overalls were numerously present. It is
said that the house will not be completely finished for at least another
four months.

The house was well dressed with numerous stiff fronts. The
mezzanine boxes were the only reserved seats, those being set aside for
the more prominent city officials and executives. Following a short
dedication address delivered by William Hollander, general director of
publicity, the president of the Uptown Business Men's Association took
the platform and delivered a short oration which was in the form of a
glorifying tribute to the B. & K. organization and the aggressive
Sam Katz, who seems to predominate every time the corporation is
mentioned.

Nathaniel Finston, the musical director chosen to preside over the
orchestra in its initial week, walked on to a great reception. The men
were dressed in velour jackets and gray trousers, giving the orchestra a
striking appearance, while Mr. Finston's introduction was made in a
business suit. Perhaps the heavy rehearsals didn't allow him sufficient
time to make the change. The orchestra ripped off a heavy overture,
going through it without a mishap. But to make the dress rehearsal
realistic several bars of the music where mistakes were supposed to have
been made were repeated. This had a tendency to disturb the audience,
who answered in applause.

Jesse Crawford, who bears the prominent distinction of appearing on
the opening program of all of the B. & K. better houses, was slated
to appear following the overture, but something went wrong with the
organ and his solo was omitted to the disappointment of many. The Oriole
Orchestra, permanently at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, formed one of the
presentations. The boys' reputation carried them through from being a
flop. This was due to the innumerable times that they were forced to
stop in the middle of a number because there was a minor defect in the
lighting. There had to be some interferences or else the novelty of the
dress rehearsal would not have bene noted.

Even Frank Cambria, the producer for the B. & K. combination,
was forced to laugh at some of the liberties taken in presenting this
affair. So much time was wasted that Sam Katz sent back word to quit
clowning and go on with the show.

At this time the invited guests started to walk out. The dress
rehearsal so far was a fizzle as far as entertainment or novelty were
concerned. A short news reel gave the audience a rest. A massive and
pretentious presentation involving a cast of 30 and labeled "Under
Spanish Skies" was easy to look at from a scenic and electrical
standpoint, but lacked substantial entertainment. A flock of ballet
girls, singers, dancers, and a five-piece musical combination were
employed in this stupendous extravaganza. There was little re-rehearsing
here, as the affair was draggy enough as it was. It may shape up better
with a few shows under their belt. The house was half empty when the
curtain was dropped on the presentation that consumed about 35 minutes.

"The Lady Who Lied," the principal screen attraction, was
billed as the world's premier showing. The billing was used for effect,
as the feature had been exhibited in a nearby town six weeks before.
This feature is a prolonged affair and would have had a more secure
punch were it cut after the fourth reel.

The overture rang in about 8:30, with the feature leaving the
screen three hours late. The acts should not be judged by this review,
as it was supposed to be a dress rehearsal, and their respective
performances were hindered by the frequent interruptions. But under
normal conditions it could not turn out to be a show strong enough to
qualify for the premier performance of this massive, attractive and
gorgeous cinema palace. It is a monument to the North Side and a gold
feather in the caps of the B. & K. organization. The appearance of
the house will undoubtedly draw all the picture fans from the North
Side, and will even steal some from other sections of the city. It is
well worth the trip to look over the furnishings and architecture of the
theatre.

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